Losing money can’t thwart a bookseller’s ambition
Print Edition
AFTER making losses for the past 19 years, Yang Yi, a bookstore owner in southwest China’s Chongqing, surprised everyone by deciding to expand.
Yang spent 5 million yuan (US$720,000) to move his small store from its city center location to a new 1,600-square-meter spot in a quieter corner of the city. In addition to over 200,000 books, it has a small amphitheater, study and meeting rooms, an art gallery, cafe and a teahouse.
Yang, who graduated in 1983, was a lecturer before going into business in the early 1990s. In 1998, he invested his savings in the bookstore.
“My goal was always to give back to society after I earned some money, and I decided to do that via opening a bookstore. Books made me into the man I am today and I want to give others the same opportunity,” Yang said.
But with the rise of online shopping, e-readers and the multiplying sources of entertainment in China, Yang’s bookshop has been running on empty ever since, losing over 1 million yuan last year alone.
Yang made the bookstore a cultural destination for lovers of literature and art. He arranged recitals, concerts, plays and book launches to attract customers. Gradually, the bookstore gained a reputation for its cultural entertainment, and audiences grew.
“My dream to run a bookstore has been fulfilled. Now I’m working toward another dream, which is promoting science,” said Yang. “I am committed to enlightening youth in their pursuit of science.”
Books on science have become some of the store’s bestsellers.
Yang’s persistence and hard work have been recognized by the local government, which gave him a grant as part of their support of the city’s brick-and-mortar bookstores. The district government even established a branch library inside the bookstore, with Yang looking after its management.
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